Holiday Truths Forum

We have a 7am flight in April and need to check in by 4am so were thinking of staying at an hotel the night before. Do the shuttle buses run all night? And can anyone reccomend a decent hotel really close to Terminal 2. All information would be appreciated.

Many thanks


Trish

'Airport security checks tightened'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4710252.stm

The Hotel Hoppa bus service runs from 5.30am to 11.30pm, so you will have to get a taxi. Depending on the number of people and how far away your hotel is it may not be much more expensive. I paid £3.00 each way on the hoppa last November.

Hi Judith

I think we are going to take a chance on 2 hour check in and drive from home, only takes 40mins. Thanks for the info though, we may change our minds nearer the time.

Trish

'Eye scan checks extended'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4792206.stm

I am bringing a group of 15 in all to Heathrow on our way to Nairobi in June. I want to find us day rooms near Heathrow and our flight arrives from Toronto at 6.15 am. We leave for Nairobi at 7 pm so obviously we want to be able to check in as early as possible.
Does anyone have any ideas as to a good cheap hotel? Some people want double rooms but some of us are prepared to go 3 or 4 to a room to save money.
Also, what can you tell me about terminal 4 at Heathrow? All the hotel shuttle services seem to go to 1, 2 and 3 only. But we depart from Terminal 4.
Any ideas, tips and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Thanks!

Magmum - we stayed at the St Giles Hotel, which is quite near Terminal 4, last October. Booking two or three weeks before the date of stay, the price had come down to just £40 per room per night (for a double room not including breakfast) which was far cheaper than any other we looked at. It is a very large hotel, so leaving it late is not a risk. The room was nice, clean, had everything you could want, with a large bathroom. We would certainly book again.

A taxi to Terminal 4 took literally a few minutes and cost £10.50.

It is easy to find in the dark as well, as it is lit up in purple at night!!

Violetta

does anybody know what the going rate for the cigs are at heathrow airport,eg; 1000 used to be £60,has that changed.is there any other good deals on ordinary and menthol cigs.dont no wether to wait to get to america or buy at airport.
cheers laingy

Laingy

I used heathrow in February, and the duty free shop is a rip off..The price of tobacco was only slightly cheaper than our local Tesco. Must admit I didnt check the cigarette prices but I bet they were the same. Tried to query it with the BAA rep in the shop, but she was foreign and hardly spoke English!!...suggest you buy overseas less chance of getting ripped off..
have a good trip

There is no Duty Free any more that is why there is hardly any difference in prices at Airports compared to shops. Buy them at your destination


Jackie

Hi we flew back in from Bangkok to Heathrow on thursday evening. After exiting the plane and collecting the baggage as normal we (and our fellow passengers) were stopped by an airport official and asked if we had flown in from Thailand, obviously we replied yes. The official then went on to tell us there had been a major outbreak of birdflu in Thailand and we would have to undergo an extra search to check we didnt have any foodstuffs in our baggage. After queing in a small area we were allocated a member of staff who asked us a brief question about food, then seemed very interested as to whether we had brought a knuckleduster back with us. (what has this got to do with birdflu!) I have since discovered that there was no birdflu outbreak in Thailand so was just wondering if anyone knew why they would tell us this (A blatant lie!) or if anyone else has experienced the same thing.

I think its a precaution

There was news piece on BBC Look North tonight about 'meat dogs' brought into Newcastle Airport to ensure no dangerous or potentially illegal foodstuffs are brought in (which would include anything that increases the risk of bird flu)

I dont have an issue with extra precautions, however I feel these people were not really interested in whether we had food on us more whether we were carrying anything offensive. It led me to believe that they used bird flu as an excuse to question and search us for offensive weapons/drugs. Obviously I dont have a problem with this either as I had nothing to hide, however I was concerned that they were 'scaring' people into thinking there had been a huge bird flu epidemic when this clearly is not the case. Surely that is wrong?

Well, to an extent, in the Far East there has been.

They are to all intents and purposes attempting to minimize the risk. I wouldn't take it too personally, I'd more comforted that at least Customs is doing its job

When we come back from Hong Kong at the end of September we land at 05.35 in T1 international arrivals and then leave domestic arrivals at T1 at 07.15.
We are flying BA for both flights and when I've looked on their website and they say it's an hour to connect from international to domestic so I'm now wondering if my agent has left me enough time to get through....

If we are even slightly delayed we'll miss our connection to Newcastle. If this happens it will be out of our control, therefore are they obliged to put us on the next flight up which is the 09.40?

Thanks.

Yes and yes to both questions.

BA should do everything possible to help you make your connection, and I have made similar connections in under an hour without problem. If your inbound flight is delayed, it is worth telling the cabin crew (or the BA ground staff before it even departs if possible) so that appropriate arrangements can be made

Thanks Tah-M

im flying into heathrow (terminal 1) from manchester to catch a connecting flight to the usa that departs also from terminal 1.

does anyone have directions, info on how to get from luggage claim in terminal 1 to depatrures. this will be my first time in heathrow and dont have long to catch connecting flight and dont want to get lost

thanks

Will your baggage not be checked stright through to your final destination?

if for example you are flying BA on both legs I imagine you won't have to pick up your luggage at all.

yes its both with BA but it was made as 2 seprate bookings. the usa tickets where booked for me by a 3rd party and i had to make my own arrangments to get to heathrow so its unlikely that the bags will be auto transferred to my other flight